Dr. Steven Tracy, the pathologist who performed the autopsy, and former chief medical examiner, Dr. John Butts, both told the jury they believed Tessneer had been suffocated.

Tracy said he could not find any anatomical reason for Tessneer’s death.

Despite the opinions, the cause of death on her autopsy report and death certificate remains listed as undetermined.

Teddy contended, over the course of the trial and during closing arguments, that evidence in the case was either missing or had been contaminated, including Tessneer's washing machine, which had been wiped down following a finger print dusting.

He emphasized a missing crime log and grilled two SBI agents over a failed certification exam. Teddy said not only were there failings with the SBI lab itself, but with the agents.

He asked jurors why they had never seen graphs or charts of Borders' and Tessneer's DNA and compared the lack of visuals to convicting a robber without seeing the gun the robber used during the crime.

Closing arguments

In closing arguments, Kirby-Turner went over the state’s evidence – including the cement blocks found stacked under Tessneer’s window, a torn screen door, her body outstretched, cross-wise on her unmade bed, nightgown in disarray and false teeth beside her on the mattress.

She called the defense’s tactics, "mud slinging" and nothing more than smoky mirrors.